Racing is fun. It's even more fun when you're racing your friends. Everyone here likes motorcycles, and if you're the competitive sort then you're probably already racing. If you're not the competitive sort, give it a try; you might just surprise yourself. Whether or not you care how you place, you will become a better rider.

I'm hoping to drum up some interest in the smaller local off-road races that seem to get overshadowed by the big ones: Baja, Dakar, etc. 100 miles at Diamond Mill isn't nearly as epic as 1000 miles of Baja but it's still a lot of fun, doesn't cost a fortune, and is something that an ordinary rider can achieve. I figure this will be a big ol' thread to publicize races, organize helping each other out, share advice, and of course talk smack and the usual blather. I'll be posting up about the races I'm interested in, but anyone else can and should post up about what's they're up to. Races you're going to, trail rides with a bit of a training focus, begging for cast off tires or a ride, whatever.

So sound off. Do you want to race? Watch a race? Be pit crew for someone? Let's hear you!

So what sort of races am I talking about? Last year, OregonCoast and I did the OMRA Cross Country series. We've got a thread about it here, if you have some time. Cross country races are long distance- usually 2.5 to 5 hours- over natural terrain. The terrain is everything from really tight woods to open desert. The races are a mix of regular fixed length races, hare scrambles (a variable number of laps in a fixed time) and enduro style paced events. The races are spread out over the west side of the state, with only one being east of the Bend area. I'll be doing the same series again as well as some other races. Oregoncoast will be doing some of the races in the series, along with the Mexican 1000, a very non local race.

There is also a GP series, which is pretty much all timed races on a short (10 mile) track. Those races are shorter, around 1.5 hours. Most of them are at the same track, near Goldendale, WA. It's a groomed track that's mostly flat but has a motocross section. OMRA doesn't run any motocross races, but they do run dualsport events.

We also did the Desert 100, in Odessa, WA. It's on April 9th and 10th this year. As far as I know, it's the last mass-start desert race around. There's a non-competitive ride on Saturday, and the race on Sunday. The start line is over a thousand bikes and nearly a mile wide. It's wild. Oregoncoast and I will be there this year.

Lastly, there are some team endurance races at Starvation Ridge. This is another track near Goldendale, and there are two 6, a 12 and a 24 hour race.

There's a class for distinguished gentlemen. It starts towards the back, well out of the way of the hormone poisoned idiots. On the longest races, they run a half length course. There're no restrictions on the bike, so a 600 would be quite acceptable.

You can run a faster class if you want. I've found that the race organizers are pretty good at putting people in their place, although it can be rough on the ego.

At this same race, they lined everyone up as usual. The 40, 50, and 60 rows each got their start, then the official asked the rest of us (beginners, women, sportsman) if we would mind letting the children start ahead of us, since it was a tight course and they would likely be much faster than us. If your ego can't handle being beat by a 10 year old, or being told so in advance, you should probably stick to adventure riding .

While I'm at it, here's how the racing classes work in the OMRA. It's similar to the AMA classes (which the rest of the US uses).

AA: The fastest.
AA Vet: The fastest riders over 38 years old.

Open Expert: Fast, no restrictions.
Open Amateur: Slow, no other restrictions. By 'slow' I mean slow by race standards. They're still faster than 95% of advriders that I've ridden with. There are some rules that define when someone should move from the amateur to expert class. (and from beginner to amateur, and expert to AA)

200 Expert, 200 Amateur: The bike must be smaller than 200cc for a two stroke or 250cc for a four stroke. No restrictions on the rider.

30 Expert, 30 Amateur: Any bike allowed, rider must be 30 years old or greater.

Beginner: Only raced a few times. There used to be different beginner classes, but there wasn't enough turnout to justify it.

Junior Expert, Amateur, B, C: Under 15 years old. The B and C are younger, but don't race XC races, just GP.

Sportsmen: Just want to ride the course at a trail pace. Series points aren't tallied for this class.

Most races start the classes one at a time, with a 1 minute interval between them. This keeps riders of significantly different speeds apart from each other. Sometimes there are also separate races for different classes. For example the Timber Mountain race in the pictures above had one race for the AA through 40 Expert classes and another for the 40 Amateur through Sportsmen. Sometimes it's because the course is different, sometimes just to reduce lapping.

Did a few of the GP's............fun, but I've always been a "go when you wanna go, stop when you wanna stop" type of rider.
Although I'm sure I would have lots of fun cheering you and Paul on while tipping back a cold one as you guys go by

Now we're talkin.
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I cought the bug last season, and did most of the Washington Enduros and ISDEs, with a couple Hare Scrambles thrown in.
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In fact I coulda sworn I saw RoadRash at the Hareport HS in Oct. I even hollered at you, but you probably didn't expect someone "racing" to be hollering! Ha ha
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The final one was the 80th annual Cowbell enduro at Walker Valley. Worst conditions / great time.
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It was kinda weird getting into racing and signing up in the "Senior" class!
I think I will make it official next, and register for a number.
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See you guys at the D100.

Thanks for starting this thread, I used to race sports cars with SCCA and some other vintage groups. I loved the competition and the feeling of being one with the machine. To make a long story short money has kept me out of sportscar racing and I was bit by the motorcycle bug hard about a year ago you know just for fun. Well, I'm at a point were I want to try a XC race or hare scramble. I'm not that good of rider but think a race would be a hoot. I do work on my riding and try and improve every time I go. This thread is an insperation and will race someday in the near future, thanks and keep it up.

I used to race XC mountain bikes, but I've never raced motos. I have a KX125 that I would like to race, but I'm not sure if I can afford to trailer it to Washington to race. If I can build some skills on the bike over the winter I'll try a few. I've got pretty much everything I need to get started, bike, truck, 6x12 enclosed trailer, and old enough to know better but still too young to care! I just need a bit more gear and some $$$ for fuel and I'm in. Anyone in the Bend/Redmond area volunteer for pit crew?

I got back into riding in june of 08 along with my son who was 10 at the time. In 09 my son rode his ttr125 at Hannegan in the nonconforming class and had a great time, so much so that this year he took the 85cc beginner class champ trophy on his 85xc he has also won 2 kids harescrambles and has placed in the last Kilted Duck and the Webbyfoot Enduro. I on the other hand have shied away from the MX scene but have entered most of Hannegans scrambles and most recently took 2nd in senior B @ the 80th Cowbell (that was my first trophy in 35yrs BTW). I honestly love racing but have to remind myself about work on monday.I also love being "Team Dad" for the kid so either way I'm in hog heaven and can't wait for next season!!

It'd be swell to have some kind of brief intro to what the different race styles are all about.

I've copied the below wholesale from the OMRA site, but maybe there's a better explanation... like what I want to know is do I need a roll-chart or do I just look for ribbons and arrows until the sweepers pick me up?

CROSS-COUNTRY DEFINITION:
A cross-country event by definition consists of no less than 70 total ground miles. The OMRA uses the Banner-Drop System, i.e. if a starting banner is used, when it is raised, shut off your engine, and when it falls, GO! The race is over at the checkered flag and the first rider through (per class) is the winner, second rider is second place and so on.

GRAND-PRIX DEFINITION:
Grand-prix rules are the same as the cross-country rules with the only exception being that a grand-prix course consists of less mileage or a shorter course.

EUROPEAN SCRAMBLES DEFINITION:
A European Scramble is defined as a mass start cross-country type event. It shall be run over a closed 6 to 16 miles in length with each event of definite time duration, minimum of one hour and a maximum of one and one-half hours in length. Events must consist of separate races for each division.

ISDE DEFINITION:
The OMRA ISDE Rules (starting 1997) are the same as the AMA/FIM rules to better facilitate NW riders who try to qualify for the U.S. International Six-Days Enduro (ISDE) Team. Click here to get the official 2003 AMA Rules (.PDF format - see ISDE section 'J').

A Reliability Enduro is a meet designed to measure the reliability of the machine and the skill of the rider involved during the time of the event. The rules of participation will be the same as the AMA/FIM rules used in Enduro competition. When public roads are used, all traffic laws, including speed, must be observed and anyone who receives a citation for a moving violation will be disqualified. The rules governing this type of event favor the "GO FAST" attitude. The timing or speed average established for each section, check-to-check, is a measurement of the rider's ability to cover the distance as prescribed. These averages will vary depending on the terrain challenges of the route. To ease the minds of those not familiar with the format of an International Six-Day Enduro, you do not need a speedometer or a watch, like a timekeeper style enduro. The special test sections are very important, as they will measure your riding capabilities and are a determining factor in who the winner is.

WORKER POINTS
65 Worker Points will be awarded for one event in a particular series, including dualsport. This applies to ONE event only of your choice! This is to spur participation by the riders in helping with an event, since often times events can be shorthanded. Just call up the host club ahead of time (if you are not a member of the club) and ask if you can help. It is up to the rider to be sure that their worker points are sent in to the OMRA points director by the hosting club. If the rider does not follow through with this, they risk not receiving their worker points.​

Here's a map I made last year of the race locations. It's the OMRA races and the Desert 100. It's about right, just to give an idea of driving distances. Speaking of driving, carpooling will save a pile of money that you can turn around and blow on bike parts. Plus, you get to bench race on the drive back.

Petrolburner; Goldendale is about as close to you as can be in WA. There are also a bunch of races right around Bend. I think you can practice in Millican Plateau, which would be a good place to get used to the terrain. (read: whoops and rocks)

Kaptenken; Just FYI, if you and your son come down to race in Oregon, at most of the venues he'll need an escort rider. This will presumeably be you. The good: You get to race with him. The bad: If you can't keep up with him, he'll have to wait for you at the checkpoints. You'll both need a 'Safety Card' too.

Which reminds me.... Everyone who rides dirt bikes in Oregon (racing or not) will eventually be required to have an atv safety education card. This year it is anyone under the age of 40 or anyone escorting a minor. It's 'Free'. It just takes time. Get it here: http://www.rideatvoregon.org/index.cfm

It'd be swell to have some kind of brief intro to what the different race styles are all about.

Click to expand...

All the races are on marked courses, there's no navigation.

Ok. I'll skip the European Scrambles because I don't think there were any last year. The Grand Prix is pretty much track racing. Most of the races this year are on a groomed track, and the ones that aren't are on an actual track are on a short loop, so you repeat the same terrain over and over again. The races are usually 1.5 hour plus a lap. Meaning, you ride laps until the workers at the checkpoint tell you to stop. This will be after 1.5 hours from the start time. When stopped, you'll line up at the finish booth and get scored based on how many laps you did and the order you finished.

I only did one GP, but my impression is that if you like the idea of MX -doing laps on a track- but want a longer race and don't want to do big jumps, then this is the race for you.

This is Eddieville. It's a groomed track around 10 miles long. Half the GP races will be here. There will also be one XC race here, which for this track is run the same as a GP race, except that it is 2.5 hours.

Races in the Cross Country series are held in a variety of terrain, mostly natural, and the format is whatever suits that terrain. There are desert, woods, and a couple of track courses. It can be a Hare Scramble format, which is just like a GP. This is done when the race is on a track or on a short woods course. It can also be a fixed distance of one or more laps on a course. On the multi-lap distance races there is still a time limit of some sort, so if you're really slow you don't have to do the whole race but you'll still get a score instead of a DNF.

You don't really need any advance knowledge to do the race. Just sign up, listen at the rider's meeting and then go race. Start and stop when they tell you. And if the scoring isn't electronic make sure you don't lose your place in line at the finish.

There are a few ISDE events in the XC series. These are timed races, where people start a few at a time, instead of one class all at once. There are checkpoints along the course where your time is recorded. The idea is that you ride the course at a trail pace and go through the checkpoints at a particular time. Most people get to the checkpoints early, wait around at the entrance and then go through at the right time (there's a clock displayed at the checkpoints). There are penalties for going through the checkpoints early or late. Also, if you go through a checkpoint early or late, your time changes for the next checkpoint by the amount you were early or late. The distances and times of the checkpoints are posted before the race, and it's nice (but not necessary) to have an odometer and watch so you can pace yourself. The course workers take care of keeping track of your time, and they write it on a scorecard which is taped to your fender, so you can look at it and figure out if you need to adjust your checkpoint times.

Within the course there are racing sections called tests. You'll get to the start of a test where there's a checkpoint, where they'll send one racer through every 30 seconds, from there you race through the test to the end of the test. You then resume your trail pace to the next regular checkpoint.

Sound complicated, but it's easy the second time. It was easy my first time too, because I couldn't keep up with the pace set by the checkpoints. So I just rode as fast as I could through the entire course.

Just to make things more complicated, there's another style of enduro that's similar to ISDE but simpler. In this one, there are an even number of checkpoints on the course, and you race from the start to the first one, ride trail pace from the first to the second, race from the second to the third, etc. The times that you are supposed to go through the checkpoints are fixed, so you if you're early or late through one checkpoint you don't change to the time for the rest of them.